AI use surges among middle-aged Swedes

Six in 10 Swedes now use AI services, a 50% increase from the previous year, according to a survey by the Internet Foundation, reported by SVT. Use is growing fastest among people born in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, said Måns Jonasson of the foundation.

AI was previously used mainly by younger people, but Jonasson said the technology is now becoming practically useful to more people. The ways people use it still vary by age: older users often treat AI as a search engine or use it for practical help, while younger people are more likely to use it as a companion or ask for advice, including about relationships.

Jonasson expects use to keep growing as AI becomes part of more services. AI-generated answers are already appearing in ordinary search engine results, he said.

The survey also found that 25% of AI users rarely or never check the answers against another source. Jonasson said people should not trust AI responses completely, but that the technology can be a valuable tool if users treat its answers with caution.

The Internet Foundation manages internet addresses ending in .se and .nu and uses the revenue for public-benefit activities. Its annual report, Swedes and the Internet, is part of that work.